The Best Year of My Life
by I Dream of Scotty
Summary: "A good man, but not the right man." Teresa Lisbon is in a relationship with Marcus Pike, but when she meets his blond haired, charming, playful business partner, Patrick, she starts to wonder if Marcus is really the one for her. This is an AU Jisbon fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist.**

 **Chapter 1: New Year's Eve**

Teresa Lisbon smiled as she opened the luxurious box on her bed. She had spent the whole morning waiting for the courier to deliver the package and now that it had finally arrived Teresa couldn't wait to open it. She had worried over the amount of money she had spent on it and had begun to regret her decision, but as she unwrapped the beautiful tissue paper she smiled and almost held her breath. It was beautiful, so exquisitely designed and the fabric felt so soft and silky in her hands.

She carefully pulled it out of the box, wary of creasing it, and held it against herself as she walked towards the full length mirror on the outside of her closet door. "It's beautiful!" She breathed as she admired the lilac satin dress before her and she told herself that it was well worth the money, while simultaneously attempting to squash down a pang of guilt she felt creep up into her mind.

She stood there for a moment caught up in her fantasy about a life she could only dream of and knew she would probably never attain, when a thought suddenly occurred to her. What if it doesn't fit? She decided to try it on, mentally berating herself for leaving it till the last minute. If the dress didn't fit she would have to rush down to the store to exchange it. She had gotten so caught up with the excitement of the New Year's Eve party her boyfriend had invited her to that she forgot she didn't have a suitable outfit to wear. She had panicked, trying to find something in her closet but nothing seemed good enough. She knew the kind of high class crowd that he associated with and in her haste, she had gone and bought an $800 dress. Teresa was not normally the type of woman who would spend her money so recklessly but she knew that Marcus' family would be there too and she wanted to make a good first impression. She had only known him for nine months but she really liked him and thought that things were going well.

Teresa finally put the dress on and took another look in the mirror. She beamed at the way it enhanced her figure, skimming her body in all the right ways. It was a perfect fit, she thought. Just then the door bell rang and Teresa cursed under her breath. It had slipped her mind that her friends were coming over. She hurriedly tried to unfasten the zipper on the back of the dress but it got caught to a lock of her hair on its way down. "Son of a bitch!" She swore as it pulled on her scalp. The doorbell rang again. "Just a minute!" she shouted at the door, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice. She carefully untangled her hair and cautiously stepped out of the dress. Fortunately she still had her pants on, so she just pulled on the sweater she had thrown on the bed and quickly made her way to the door. She greeted her old friend Wayne and invited him in. "Where's Grace?" She asked as they made their way into the living room.

"She couldn't make it. Poor thing's sick with the flu. Think she got it from the kids."

"Oh no, I know you two had plans for tonight."

"Yeah, well it looks like a nice evening in this New Year's Eve. It won't be so bad, we have plenty of snacks."

Teresa smiled. They sat down on the couch and it was then that Teresa noticed that Wayne kept looking at her in an odd way, a strange, amused smile on his face. " What?" She asked.

"Huh?" He said, not sure what she meant.

"You keep giving me that weird look. What is it?"

A little chuckle fell from his lips then, "it's just…well I was wondering if you were trying to fix that dodgy electrical outlet again."

Teresa gave him a confused look. "Why?" She asked.

Wayne laughed and then gestured towards her hair. Teresa self-consciously put her hand up to her head and ran her hair along her chestnut locks. Something didn't feel right. Sighing, she walked towards the hallway mirror and realised that in her rush to get changed her hair had gotten messed up, looking a little like she had just woken up. She had to laugh at that. After she had sorted out her unruly hair she went back into the living room and sat down on an armchair opposite her friend. "Sorry about that. I was trying on my dress for tonight when you rang the bell." She explained.

"You mean that $800 one Grace told me about?" He asked. Teresa nodded. "I don't know why you bothered for those idiots. You know the kind of people they are. Bunch of pretentious snobs-the lot of them."

"Wayne Rigsby, that's not like you." Teresa told him but he just huffed.

"Remember the last event we went to with Marcus? The charity dinner?"

"Yeah." She said.

"One of those bastards tried to hit on Grace. Then when he found out she was a just a kindergarten teacher he backed off immediately. Looked down his nose at her the whole night."

"I thought you'd be glad he backed off, I mean, she is your wife."

"I was, but you know what I mean. The whole lot of them are so arrogant and patronising. I don't know why you want to go to this party Teresa."

"Because Marcus will be there. He's not like them Wayne. You know that."

He nodded. "Granted. So is he going to introduce you to his family tonight? I hear a lot of them will be there."

"Only his sisters and it's not like that Wayne." She said, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable.

Wayne tilted his head to one side at that, intrigued. "Not like what?" He teased. "I thought you and him were getting serious and…"

Teresa cut him off. "No, it's not like that. It's a New Year's Eve party Wayne, off course they're going to be there. It's not like we're moving in together, or getting married." Her voice grew slightly quieter on the last two words and she felt the temperature in the room jump a couple of degrees.

Wayne could see the change in her mood and decided to drop the subject. "Nah, off course not, I was just messing with you."

Teresa sighed. "I guess I'm just nervous that's all."

"Well I have the perfect solution. Let me buy you lunch." He smiled and Teresa smiled back. Wayne and his food, she thought, amused. "That sounds great."

...

Teresa arrived at the New Year's Eve part a little after 10pm that evening. Marcus had picked her up at her apartment and they were driven to a classy hotel in Sacramento. All the while in the car Teresa noticed Marcus looking at her admiringly. The party was in full swing around 11.30pm and Teresa had finally begun to relax a little. She had managed to make small talk with a few of the guests, most of them either close friends of Marcus or his colleagues. She didn't really have much in common with a lot of them but at least they didn't completely shun her when she revealed to them that she was a cop. Marcus found her sitting by herself at the bar and came over to her with another man in tow. Teresa sighed inwardly, she was beginning to wonder how long she could keep up the inane chatter.

"Teresa," Marcus said brightly as he walked up to her, "I want to introduce another business associate of mine."

 _Great._ She thought but put on her best fake smile.

"This is Patrick," he began, "he's a senior partner. Patrick, this is my girlfriend Teresa."

"Ah, so this is the lovely woman you've been talking about." He held his hand out to her and she shook it politely. "Pleasure to finally meet you Teresa." He smiled a dazzling smile at her and she couldn't help but smile back.

"Nice to meet you Patrick," she said. She looked at the man and immediately noticed that although he looked like a million dollars in the Armani suit he was wearing, there was something about his demeanour that seemed out of place amongst the rest of the somewhat dull crowd. "So, Marcus has been talking about me has he? What has he been saying?" She eyed her boyfriend teasingly.

"Oh nothing bad, I assure you. On the contrary he…"

"Okay Patrick, let's not go giving everything away." Marcus told him and he turned his attention back to Teresa who was now smiling broadly.

"Oh come on Marcus," she coaxed.

Marcus was about to say something when he was interrupted by a female voice. "Marcus," she greeted him with two kisses on each cheek. "There you are, we've been looking all over for you."

"Lilly, Peyton, glad you could come. I wasn't sure you were going to make it. Mother said…"

"Mother says a lot of things, you know how she like to make mountains out of molehills." The elder woman, Lilly said.

"Teresa, these are my sisters, Lilly and Peyton." Marcus introduced, then looked over the shoulder of the younger woman, Peyton, at a man who was gesturing for him to go over to him. "Forgive me, but duty calls." Marcus said to the four of them and then walked towards his colleague.

"Nice to meet you Lilly and Peyton. I've been looking forward to meeting some of Marcus' family." She lied.

"It's Lillian, dear." The elder woman corrected, "Only my friends call me Lilly."

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds and Teresa felt her cheeks begin to flush.

"Can I get you ladies a drink?" Patrick asked, noticing the uncomfortable mood.

"Patrick Jane!" Peyton exclaimed. "How long has it been? A year?"

"Two," he corrected, "how are you Peyton?"

"All the better for seeing you again darling, shall we dance? For old time's sake?"

Patrick gave Teresa a questioning look, not sure if it was a good idea to leave her alone with Lilly, but before Teresa could respond, Peyton was dragging him by the hand onto the dance floor.

Once the two of them had left, Lilly gave Teresa a pointed look. "So, you must be the girl Marcus is seeing now. Teresa, is it?"

"Yes, that's right." Teresa said, her discomfort growing.

The elder woman looked her over once, as if appraising her worth and all Teresa wanted to do was run away and hide. "Hmm, well I must say at least you clean up better than his last one. What is it you do exactly?"

Teresa cleared her throat. "I'm the special agent in charge of the major crimes unit at the CBI."

Lillian stared at her blankly.

"The California Bureau of Investigation." She clarified.

"A policewoman?" She asked, though Teresa didn't know whether she was addressing her or herself.

"Yes." Teresa confirmed and Lillian laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh come on dear, you're making a joke aren't you." She said, "Marcus will never take up with a cop!"

"Well, he has." Teresa told her, "Here I am."

Lillian studied her attire and then looked at her face in understanding. "Oh, I see."

Another awkward silence ensued until Lillian took two glasses of champagne from a tray that a passing waiter was carrying. "You must try the champagne, it's a fine vintage." She offered Teresa a glass, which she took.

"Thank you." Teresa said, trying her best to remain polite.

"So how did the two of you meet?"

"In one of his restaurants." Teresa replied, sipping at her drink.

Another laugh was elicited from Lillian. "They don't do donuts there dear," Lillian said and Teresa found herself scowling now. "I'm sorry dear, I couldn't resist, you are so easy to tease. It's just that you don't seem his type. No offence, but he usually has more, refined tastes."

The anger inside her had begun to boil and she couldn't hold her tongue any longer, "Well I guess you don't know him that well, because he seems to like me just fine."

"He's a man, they are known for their lapses in good judgement."

"That's a pretty harsh thing to say, are you always this condescending?" She asked, her face growing hotter.

Lillian gave her a look of complete disdain and Teresa felt that she was obviously not someone who was used to being spoken to in such a manner. "Look here Teresa," she leaned closer to her and her voice had grown colder. "If you know what's good for you, you'll break up with him before he humiliates you by finding someone in his league.

"Marcus.." Teresa was interrupted by a passing man who jostled her, trying to get passed her in the crowd. "Marcus is better than that and I…ahh!" She stopped speaking as she felt something cold and wet soak through the top of her dress. She looked down at the soaked patch near her left breast and then back up at Lillian.

"Oh no! I'm sorry, there's such a crowd here tonight." She made a clicking sound with her tongue. "And champagne is going to leave a stain I'm afraid. Would you like me to get you a napkin?"

She frowned, "No thanks, I'll get one myself." Then she turned her back on Lillian and walked off to the bathroom.

About ten minutes later Teresa was sitting by herself again in a darkened corner of the room when Marcus walked up to her once more. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Got champagne on my dress and I don't have anything to cover it with." She told him, indicating the spill.

Marcus took his jacket off and put it around her. "There you go, no one will even notice now." He smiled. "Come on, it's almost midnight. Let's have one more dance for the year." He held out his hand and Teresa hesitantly took it. She had had a crappy evening and she just wanted to go home, but because it was almost New Year she relented. _Maybe things will be different next year?_ She thought to herself as he led her onto the dance floor and they started to sway to a slow romantic ballad.

After about a minute in his arms she felt herself relax once more. "I don't think Lillian likes me very much?" She told him.

"What makes you say that."

"She as much as told me so." She said.

Marcus laughed quietly. "I'm sure you misunderstood. Lilly is like that with all my girlfriends at first. She's kind of protective of her little brother. She'll like you once she gets to know you."

Teresa was skeptical. "I don't know Marcus, I don't think your family approves of me. They think you're slumming it or something."

He pulled back from her then as the song came to an end and the countdown to midnight had begun.

 _Twenty nine, twenty eight, twenty seven…_ the people chanted.

"I sincerely hope you're wrong Teresa," he gently held her chin with his fingers and looked into her eyes.

 _Twenty, nineteen, eighteen…_

"Cos, I intend to see a lot more of you. I think that we're really good together and you know when something's right."

 _Twelve, eleven.._

Marcus took a deep breath, "I guess what I'm trying to say is…"

 _Five, four, three.._

"Will you marry me, Teresa?"

 _Two, one. Happy New Year!_ The crowd chanted and then cheered.

And then the world finally collapsed around Teresa Lisbon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist.**

A/N: Thank you for all the lovely reviews for the last chapter. I'm so happy that you liked it and I really appreciated you taking the time to let me know. I had meant to get this chapter out last week but I have been sick with the flu so here's a slightly longer chapter for you this time to make up for it.

Chapter 2: The Boiler Guy

It was 10.23am the next morning when Teresa woke up with a pounding headache. Her first instinct was to reach into the nightstand drawer for some aspirin, but as she started to sit up, she felt a wave of nausea sweep over her and thought better of it. Aspirin on an empty stomach would only make her throw up, she thought. Instead, she decided to slowly get up and get a glass of water. Her throbbing head kept time with her footsteps as she made her way into the kitchen, the memories of last night acting as an annoying accompaniment to the unwanted symphony her body was treating her to this morning. She got a tall glass from the cabinet and opened the faucet to fill it half way. She then drank the cool liquid which immediately, albeit temporarily, tempered the rising storm she felt in her gut.

She considered making some breakfast but she wasn't hungry. After the little surprise that Marcus had dropped on her she found she had lost her appetite. It wasn't that she didn't like him, she just wasn't ready to make that kind of a commitment to him yet. Teresa took her glass and sat down at the dining table. Would she ever be able to marry him? She remembered the way that his sister had spoken to her at the party and strongly suspected that the other members of his family were likely to feel the same way. She looked down at her left hand and for a second or two rubbed lightly at her bare ring finger. Marriage was a serious commitment and one she wasn't just going to jump into.

After drinking her glass of water she made her way back up the stairs and into her bedroom. She glanced around the room and, as if noticing it for the first time, sighed at the mess she had apparently made the previous night. In an attempt to control the stress she was feeling she began to tidy up, a ritual she had picked up from childhood and having to live with 3 messy brothers. She came across her dress from the party, carefully folded and placed on the ottoman. She growled as she picked it up to put in her dry-cleaning pile when an envelope fell from between one of the folds and onto the floor at her feet. Curious, she bent down, picked it up and opened it. It read:

 _Dear Teresa,_

 _Patrick told me what happened last night. I'm sure it really was an accident. Here's something to cover the dry cleaning bill._

 _Love Marcus_

 _xxx_

Teresa smiled as she saw a check folded inside the letter. _He really is sweet sometimes._ It occurred to her then that she did not remember how she got home last night. It would seem that Marcus had dropped her off and apparently had tucked her in. She felt her heart squeeze a little at the probable reason he didn't stay the night with her. She had tried to let him down gently but making sure to let him know that it wasn't completely off the cards but she wanted them to date for longer to be sure. She hardly saw him during the week as he was always so busy managing his restaurants and she was usually busy most weekends when she was on call. The Christmas period had been a particularly crazy one for the Major Crimes Unit, as always, and the party was the first time she had actually spent any real time with him for a couple of weeks. Sure, they talked on the phone, but that wasn't the same thing. In her heart of hearts, she knew she didn't know that much about him yet, nor he about her.

She continued to clean up the room and as she made her way through the mess and the place was starting to look a little nicer, she felt her good mood return and soon she found herself singing along to a song on the radio. " _Don't stop believin'…hold on to that feelin'"_

She would never admit it to anyone, but she secretly loved the old eighties rock songs. This Journey song was one of her favourites. She was almost done cleaning up when she came across one of her shoes from last night. Confused, she began to search for its mate but couldn't find it anywhere. After ten minutes of searching her apartment without any luck, she decided to give up and take a nice shower instead.

She walked into the bathroom and stripped off her night clothes, placing them into the hamper by the sink. She turned on the shower but before stepping in she selected her favourite bottle of shower gel from the caddy. It was an expensive brand that Grace had bought her for her birthday and she only used it when she felt the need for some pampering. Teresa decided that after last night, she needed this today. Still humming that tune from earlier, she stepped into the shower and almost screamed at the shock of feeling icy cold water hitting her bare skin. She quickly moved out of the spray of water and tried to adjust the temperature but it was no good. She immediately pulled herself out of the cubicle and just stood on the bathroom rug shivering and making frustrated growling sounds. Her hand was still clutching at the bottle of shower gel, her fingers holding on furiously. This wasn't the first time this had happened. Damn, she was going to kill that stupid, lying boiler guy! "New part….my ass!" She muttered to herself through clenched, chattering teeth.

Realising that she was still cold and naked she quickly grabbed a towel, dried herself off and marched angrily into her bedroom. Sitting down on the bed she grabbed her cell phone and dialled the number for an emergency boiler repair service. She sat there, shivering for two minutes before finally speaking to someone who told her that today being New Year's Day, there would be a delay in them getting there and they couldn't say when. "Listen buddy," she began. "so you mean to say that I'm without hot water, possibly for most of the day? On New Year's? I have people coming over later, I need to shower!"

"Sorry lady, I can't help you."

Teresa swore under her breath. "Look, it was your guy who was supposed to have fixed it last time, if he had done a proper job…"

They hung up on her then.

"Dammit!"

Teresa opened up the browser on her phone and began to search for other emergency repair services when someone rang her doorbell. She decided to ignore it and continued with what she was doing. Her brothers Tommy and Jimmy weren't due to arrive until 4pm so she knew it couldn't be them. About thirty-seconds later the bell rang again, followed by a familiar voice calling her name."Teresa?" came the male voice.

"Marcus?" Teresa put her bathrobe around her towel-wrapped body and made her way to the door. She opened it and let him in. He immediately noticed something was off about her.

"Teresa honey, are you okay?" He asked as he followed her to the bedroom.

Teresa huffed out a frustrated breath, and while grabbing some clean clothes she proceeded to explain what had happened. Marcus sat patiently on the bed listening to her talk as she went into the bathroom to change.

"I know a guy who fixed my boiler a year ago, the company also do emergency call outs, they're very good. I could give them a call, if you like?" He asked.

Teresa stepped out of the bathroom, now fully dressed. "They sound expensive." She said.

"Don't worry, I'll pay for it."

Teresa frowned at that, "Marcus, I couldn't let you do that."

Marcus smiled, "Nonsense, consider it a thank you for a wonderful evening yesterday."

Teresa examined his face then, "So…you're not mad? You know, about the proposal.."

He laughed, "Why would I be mad? It's not like you said no. I understand you need a little time but that's fine. Weddings need a lot of planning anyway."

Now Teresa was really confused, she was sure she had turned him down. "Marcus…" she began carefully, "I didn't say yes either." She braced herself for his response.

"A maybe is as good as a yes sweetheart." He paused, "Look, I know you're scared.."

"Maybe does not mean yes…" She countered.

"But everything is going to be okay, trust me."

"How do you know that? Your sisters hate me!"

"No, they don't," he smiled and looked into her eyes. "How could anyone hate you?"

"They don't think I'm good enough for you." Teresa reminded him.

"They'll some to appreciate you in time, as I do. Teresa, it really is going to be okay."

Teresa was about to argue her case some more when Marcus got a text. "Oh, look sweetheart, I'm sorry but I've gotta go. Business calls again." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and was walking towards the front door. "Look the reason I came by was to give you back that earring you thought you lost yesterday. It kinda got attached to my coat, must have been while you were passed out in the car ride home but I've accidentally left it on the kitchen counter before I left the house. I'll have someone bring it by this afternoon okay?"

Teresa nodded and smiled a little, "Thanks, that's my favourite pair of earrings. Speaking of missing items, Marcus do you know where my other shoe is? You know from that pair I was wearing last night."

He stopped and chuckled a little. "You don't remember? The heel broke on the way out of the bar, you got so frustrated with it that you threw it into the bushes! Look I'll make the call to that company, get your boiler fixed up today in time for your brothers' visit. Love you." He told her and then quickly closed the door before she had a chance to say another word. She just stood there, eyes wide, her face an inch from the door and her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

….

About three hours after Marcus had left, Teresa was in her living room, taking out her frustrations on the sofa cushions. She was still mad at Marcus for just assuming that she would marry him eventually and then offering to pay for her boiler to be fixed. Teresa had always been a very strong, independent woman and this felt wrong to her, especially as they had been together for such a short space of time. Teresa picked up another cushion and gripped it firmly in her hand, balling the other hand into a fist and then pummelled it into submission. For some reason, they weren't standing up the way they were supposed to today and it was driving her crazy.

Just as she was about to take another swing at the hapless cushion, the doorbell rang. Teresa let out a little growl and said under her breath, "Finally!" She put the cushion back in its place, glaring it at it for its disobedience and then marched over to the front door.

Before opening it she took a deep breath and controlled her temper a little. When she opened it she was a little taken back by the man who stood before her. She was expecting him to have a more unkept appearance but here he stood in a three piece suit. _Figures, even his boiler guy is posh!_ She thought.

"Hello, Teresa, isn't it?" The man asked.

"That's right. Look I know this is New Year's Day and you must be really busy but I really appreciate you coming over." She showed him in and closed the door behind them.

"Oh it's no trouble at all." He told her. "Marcus is a dear friend of mine and besides, I was in the area anyway."

"Really?" She asked. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It wasn't Mrs Johnson was it? She's the one who recommended that cowboy to me. Wouldn't be surprised if her boiler has suffered the same fate."

The man in the suit gave her a rather confused but amused look. "Err…no. Actually it was restaurant business."

Teresa ushered him into the kitchen, "Oh no, you mean Raphael's having problems too?" She shook her head and she showed him to the boiler. "Well here it is. The thing's been playing up for a while now but I haven't had any hot water from this morning."

The man in the suit began to smile at her and for a moment Teresa thought there was something oddly familiar about it. "What?" She asked.

"Teresa," he began, "I think you have me mistaken for someone else.

Teresa tilted her head slightly as confusion took hold of her now. "Aren't you the boiler guy?" She asked.

The man shook his head, amusement clearly showing in his eyes now. "I'm Patrick." He told her, but she remained silent. "From the party last night." He prompted.

Teresa was still drawing a blank.

He cleared his throat. "I'm Marcus' business partner. He introduced us last night."

Teresa suddenly felt a very warm flush of embarrassment as she realised her mistake. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry Patrick." In her mind she was frantically trying to remember the moment they had met but she had drunk a lot of alcohol after her encounter with Marcus' sisters that night that the events were all kind of fuzzy to her this morning.

Patrick smiled, "Hey don't worry about it. I'm sure you met a lot of new people yesterday. Marcus is very popular and I'm sure you found meeting all his colleagues about as fascinating as I did the first time round."

Teresa looked at Patrick a moment, not knowing whether she should laugh. Then his lips broke into another dazzling smiled and she let out a sigh of relief. "It was a lot of people," she hedged.

Patrick nodded knowingly. "I actually came over to give you this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the diamond earring she had lost. "Marcus asked if I could bring it over."

"Oh thank you Patrick," she reached out and took it from him and examined it carefully to make sure it was still intact.

"I take it those earrings have a special meaning for you." He asked as he studied her face.

"Yes," she confirmed, looking up at his face, "how did you know?"

"Just your reaction. Were they a special gift? From a parent?"

Teresa nodded as she felt her eyes begin to fill with tears. "My father. They were a gift for my birthday."

"He's…"

Teresa nodded again, "Yeah, when I was a child. Drunk driver."

"I'm sorry." Patrick said, "Mine too, both parents actually."

"I can't believe I'm talking to you about this Patrick." She was usually such a private person. She realised then that she hadn't even told Marcus the details of her father's death.

"Everyone needs to talk about these things sometimes, and strangers are often easier to talk to than close friends."

"I guess your right, but you didn't come over for that." She managed to get her emotions in check again.

"No," Patrick agreed. He held her gaze for a second or two then cleared his throat. "Did you say you were having boiler problems?"

Teresa felt as though she were coming out of a trance. "Err yeah. I'm expecting a guy to come over sometime this afternoon. Marcus said he's really good."

Patrick looked at her face, "You don't seemed too thrilled by that," He noted.

Teresa sighed, "it's not that I don't appreciate it, but…"

"Let me guess, he's offered to pay for it and you feel uncomfortable by that. You feel like he's taking away your independence somehow." Teresa was momentarily speechless. Patrick smiled and shrugged. "Marcus has that affect on people he cares about. He's a very generous man, sometimes he doesn't realise that he should tone it down a little."

"How long have you known Marcus?" She asked.

"Since college. We started the restaurant business straight after graduation actually."

"You two must be close?" She asked.

"We were best friends. I guess we have kinda drifted apart a little, over the years but yes."

"I'm surprised he never mentioned you." Teresa said.

Patrick smirked. "Well, I'm sure he's still sore over Peyton."

It was then that Teresa remembered being introduced to him. "Are you and her old friends too?"

"A couple of years ago she had an… interest in me. I turned her down. Don't think Marcus was too pleased about that. She was just coming off a messy divorce and was looking for some fun, as she put it. I wasn't interested."

"She doesn't seem like the kind to take no for an answer." Teresa laughed remembering the way she had practically yanked him onto the dance floor.

Patrick also laughed in agreement. "Well it's two years later and…" Patrick rolled his eyes making Teresa laugh some more.

Patrick smiled, warmed by her laughter. "I gotta say, you're a lot different than his usual choice of girlfriend. They tend to be a lot more uptight. I'm glad to see he actually chose a human being this time." Teresa didn't know why, but this comment made her grin wider.

"Well at least someone thinks so."

Patrick nodded in sympathy, "Ol' Lillian been giving you the evil eye huh? I saw how she treated you last night. She had no right to do that."

Teresa shrugged. "They don't approve of him dating an archery loving blue collar cop, what can I say?"

Patrick laughed. "You know, I know a thing or two about boilers. How about I have a look for you? Then you won't have to rely on Marcus paying for it."

"But then I'll owe you?" Teresa reasoned, not liking that idea either.

Patrick tapped his lower lip in thought, "Hmm well I always wanted to have a go at archery, how about in exchange for me fixing your boiler, you give me a few lessons?"

Teresa looked incredulously at him. "Seriously? You want to learn archery?"

Patrick raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Hey, don't let the suit fool you. Underneath this well groomed man lies a dashing, aspiring Robin Hood."

Teresa laughed involuntarily at that and shook her head in resignation. "Okay Patrick, if that's the way you feel about it, you're on."

He grinned mischievously, "Excellent." And with that he promptly took off his suit jacket and placed it on the back of the chair, then he rolled up his shirt sleeves and began working on the boiler.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: In this chapter we get to see things a little more from Patrick's point of view as well as Teresa's.

Thanks to everyone who left a review, I am really happy to know you are enjoying this story :-)

 **Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist.**

Chapter 3: Slings and arrows

Three hours after Patrick had finished work on the boiler he was in his bedroom changing his clothes. He had just taken a shower and was feeling a lot fresher now. He smiled to himself as he put on his clean clothes. It had been a while since he had done any practical work like that and he had left Teresa's house feeling really useful again. _It's nice to be needed._ He thought, realising that it had been quite some time since he last felt really appreciated like that. Just as he was about to put his shirt on there came a knock on the door. Patrick left his shirt on the bed and walked over to look through the peephole. He opened the door when he saw his friend on the other side. "Hey Marcus," he greeted as he let the other man inside.

"Hi Patrick," He paused then, noticing his friend's state of dress. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?" He grinned.

Patrick shook his head. "No, I had shower and was just changing."

Marcus looked around suspiciously, "I hear you and Peyton had a good time at the party last night."

Patrick walked back to his bedroom to put on his shirt. "We just danced together that's all. Two dances Marcus. Nothing happened.

The other man's smiled faded a little. "Why don't you just give her a chance Patrick? She obviously likes you and…you know it's been a while since you last…"

Patrick finished buttoning up his shirt and gave Marcus a pointed look. "Your point being?"

Marcus held up both of his hands in a placating gesture. "Look I'm not trying to interfere in your love life Patrick, but as a friend I'm concerned for you."

Patrick sighed, "The last time you tried to set me up with a woman she drugged me, tied me to the bed and stole five hundred bucks from me."

Marcus had to fight to keep the grin off his face as he remembered the state he found Patrick in that morning. "Oh yeah, what was her name again? Lauren?"

"Lorelei!" Patrick growled in annoyance as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"That was a year ago, and I told you I'm sorry about that."

"That's the last time I let you play match-maker. Where did you find her anyway."

"She was a friend of Jim's. I thought she looked respectable enough."

Patrick shook his head. "Look, I really do appreciate you trying to help, but I'd much rather find someone on my own. I want to get to know the woman, maybe become friends before anything happens between us. I've had my fill of one nighters Marcus."

"Well you should get out and meet people. You're not going to find the woman of your dreams moping around this poor excuse of an apartment." He looked around the room, "I mean come on Patrick, it's like you're still in college. You can afford to live in a much better place. There's a nice house for sale a couple of blocks from me. Nice neighbourhood - you might even meet Miss right there? I know there are plenty of nice single women."

Patrick smirked, suspecting that his friend was mocking him a little. "Oh yeah, and how would you know?" He teased.

Marcus tilted his head at him, "I'm in a happy relationship Patrick. Teresa means the world to me and I would never cheat on her."

"I know, but the right woman for me won't care that I live here, she won't care about money or social status. She'll just like me for me."

"Plenty of women like you Patrick!" He patted his friend on the shoulder but Patrick let out a frustrated sigh and decided to let the conversation drop.

"Speaking of Teresa, I dropped off the earring to her today."

Marcus smiled, "Good! What do you think of her?"

Patrick shrugged, nonchalantly. "She seems friendly, she has a good sense of humour."

Marcus smiled even more, "So you like her then?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Good. I just know that Lilly will come round too. She's hard to impress but Teresa is a very special person."

"Look, I don't mean to be rude but I have to go over the new menu for the restaurant now so.."

"Off course, I just came over to give you this. It's an invite to a little mixer I'm hosting in three weeks."

"Thanks," he said, taking the invite from Marcus.

"Plenty of time to find a date." He teased and then let himself out.

After Marcus had gone, Patrick let himself fall backwards onto his bed. He closed his eyes and tried to let go of the tension the conversation had produced in him. Slowly his mind began to wonder back to that afternoon at Teresa's house and he found himself chuckling at something funny she had said and the stunned expression on her face when he had actually fixed her boiler. His face then dropped as he remembered that she had agreed to take him to his first archery lesson in two weeks. He groaned. "Archery? Off all the things I could have asked her to teach me, I had to go and suggest archery! Patrick you idiot, you're just going to make a damn fool of yourself!"

….

It was two weeks later and the day Patrick had been dreading had finally arrived. Teresa had been texting him the past week and arranging everything and going on about how excited she was to be doing this again. Apparently it had been a while since she last used a bow and she claimed to be a little rusty but Patrick wasn't buying any of it. He could tell at once she was just trying to make him feel better. It hadn't worked. She had told Marcus about the lessons and Marcus had been teasing him non-stop the last two weeks about it. He knew how bad Patrick was at any kind of sport. This was not going to go well, he thought as he pulled up at her apartment.

Straightening his denim jacket and running a hand through his hair he took a deep breath and then rang the bell. He didn't have to wait too long before he heard her footsteps as she walked up to the door. What he saw when the door was opened took him back a little. She was wearing slim fitting jeans with a little black and white striped t-shirt. Ordinarily this outfit wouldn't have made him look twice but on her it looked so cute. He couldn't help the little smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Hi Patrick, come on in, I'll just be a minute." She told him as she invited him in.

He sat down in the living room and waited while she quickly went back to her bedroom and grabbed her leather jacket. Teresa had been looking forward to doing archery again. She always enjoyed letting off steam this way. Usually she would just go down to the shooting rang and fire off a few rounds when she had had a particularly bad day but there was just something about shooting arrows that felt a little more satisfying. She walked back into the living room and smiled when she saw Patrick looking at her family photos on the mantle. "That was a good day." She said as she moved towards him. "Jimmy's eighteenth birthday. We went bowling."

"Looks like a nice kid. I can clearly see the family resemblance." He told her then turned around to face her."

"Ready?" she asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." He said and she laughed as the two of them headed out to her car.

The afternoon went really well and both Patrick and Teresa were having a really good time. After the safety speech was given by the instructor Patrick and Teresa formed a team and the two of them took turns to get as high a score as they could. Patrick was amused at how competitive she was and how determined she was that they beat the other three teams there. This took a slightly unfortunate turn when Patrick's lack of skill made them fall ten points behind the other team. "Sorry." He told her sheepishly as his third arrow ricocheted off a hole on the board and bounced off wildly to the side.

Teresa's frustration turned to humour as she saw the look on his face and burst out into a fit of laughter. "That has to be the first time I've seen anyone do that." She told him. "I mean once or twice sure but three times in a row?" She looked at the board. "There aren't even that many holes on here!"

Her laughter was contagious and soon he was laughing too. He couldn't remember when he had laughed so hard. "I was always the exception to the rule Teresa."

When the session was over they gathered up their equipment as Teresa tried to regain her composure. "This was fun, we should do this again sometime." She suggested.

Patrick smiled, "yeah, you're right. Besides I could definitely use the practice."

"I'm just going to put these away, I won't be long." She told him and then walked toward the storage room with their bows and arrows in her hands.

Patrick sat down on the floor and drank from a bottle of water. In all the fun he'd been having he hadn't realised how thirsty he had become and the cool liquid felt good. Just then, a man from one of the other teams sat beside him to tie his sneaker laces up. "You two make a really good team." He commented.

Patrick smiled. "She did most of the work."

"This your first time doing archery?" he asked and Patrick nodded.

"At first I thought it would be a bad idea but I actually enjoyed myself today."

The man patted him on the shoulder once and stood up to leave, "well I'm sure your girlfriend is a great instructor. You'll be doing good in no time." He then walked off.

Teresa walked over to him a few seconds later, carrying her own water bottle. "Let's go, I'm starving. Maybe we could grab a bite to eat on the way back?" Patrick was quiet for a beat too long, lost in thought."Patrick? You okay?"

He shook himself out of his reverie. "Uh yeah. I'm fine. Look would you mind if we take a rain check on lunch? I just realised I have some restaurant business I need to attend to this afternoon?"

Teresa tried to hide the disappointment she felt at that. She had enjoyed his company so much and was hoping they could talk some more over food. "Sure," she said and put on a cheery smile. "I'll drop you off at my place and you can take your car."

"Thanks Teresa." He told her and they walked out of the sports hall. As they drove back Teresa noted how quiet Patrick had grown and the silence made her uncomfortable.

"Did I say something wrong?" She asked, glancing at him.

"No, off course not. Why would you ask that?"

"Well you've been quiet the whole drive."

Patrick looked at her then, "You've done nothing wrong Teresa. I guess I'm just tired. The restaurant is struggling a little. We're trying out a new menu to attract more customers but it's taking a lot out of me."

"Oh," she said in understanding. "Well, anytime you need to blow off steam, just give me a call and we can head down to the range again."

He smiled. "I will."

The rest of the drive continued in comfortable silence. Patrick had been telling her the truth about his fears for the future of the restaurant, but what he hadn't told her was that the man's comment about her being his girlfriend had left him a little unsettled and he wasn't sure what to do about it.

A/N: Why is Patrick so troubled by that comment and how will this affect their new-found friendship? More to come!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm back with the next chapter of this story. So glad you are enjoying it and thank you very much to those who have fav/following, and thank you also to everyone who has left a review :-)

 **Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist.**

Chapter 4: Valentine's Day

Patrick Jane took a stroll through his local park that afternoon after the archery lesson. He had always enjoyed communing with nature and walking through the park was his favourite way to unwind after a stressful day at work. As he walked along a pathway that led him to his favourite bench his mind turned to thoughts about the archery lesson and in particular the comment that was made.

 _"_ _Well I'm sure your girlfriend is a great instructor."_

The word 'girlfriend' played over and over in his mind like a broken record and he wished he could erase it. He often took great pride in the fact that he had a very good memory but it was times like this he wished he could forget a few things, it would certainly have made his life easier over the last few years.

He made his way to the bench and sat down and looked at the big old oak tree a few feet away from him, forcing himself to focus on something else. _I'm being ridiculous_ , he thought. _It was just some throwaway comment from a stranger. Teresa's just a friend, not my girlfriend! I would never do that to Marcus!_

Then a quiet voice in the back of his mind whispered to him, _unlike what he did to you._

Patrick took a deep breath and try to calm his rising anxiety. _That was a long time ago._ He told the nagging voice. _And it's not like I was engaged to her._

 _Ah but it still hurt, he betrayed you, in a way._

Patrick shook his head, not wanting to go down that path again. He thought back to the time when he and Marcus were still in college and Patrick was dating this girl he had met at a party. Erica, was her name. She had short dark hair and a smile that would make men putty in her hands. She was charming and smart and she challenged him intellectually; a fact that Patrick found very appealing. They were dating for a couple of months when Marcus had fallen for her charms and eventually stole her away from him. He was angry at him for a couple of weeks, before Erica eventually dumped Marcus for an older, richer man. The two of them decided that they didn't want to let a woman come between them - they had been best friends up till that point, and although they made amends, their friendship was never really the same after that. In hindsight, Patrick knew all along that she was too good to be true, but being so young he had allowed his hormones to get the best of him. _It's not like I'm attracted to her._ He told himself.

The inner voice smirked at that.

 _I mean, okay she's cute, but a lot of women are. Just 'cos she's cute doesn't mean I'm attracted to her._

There was silence in his head for a few seconds before a faint feeling of doubt caressed his mind and then faded into nothingness.

xxxxxxxx

Teresa Lisbon was sitting on her couch, enjoying a bag of potato chips when the doorbell rang. She had changed into sweats and was looking forward to a nice relaxing afternoon and she didn't want to be interrupted. She considered ignoring the bell when a familiar voice from the other side of the door called her name. At once she rose from the chair and made her way to the door. When she opened it, she was greeted by a smiling older woman in her sixties who was carrying a gift bag. "Mum!" Teresa exclaimed as she reached out and hugged the other woman. "What are you doing here?"

Teresa's mother's smile widened. "What, can't I come over and visit my favourite daughter?"

Teresa smiled and shook her head, "Mum, I'm your _only_ daughter."

"Doesn't make it any less true."

Teresa showed her mother inside, closed the door and followed her into the living room and sat next to her on the couch. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming to Sacramento? I could've met you at the airport."

"Well if I'd done that then I wouldn't have been able to see the surprised look on your face when you opened the door." She laughed. "I'm sorry I missed Christmas and New Year's, I really wanted to come see you and your brothers but your aunt Marie has been having back trouble again. She was in bed for a week and I was over helping her with things."

"Has she been to a doctor?"

"Both me and your uncle have tried to tell her to see one but you know how stubborn she can be. She really doesn't like doctors." She held out her arm and gave the gift bag she was carrying to her daughter. "I got you a Christmas present Teresa. I know it's a month and a half too late but.."

Teresa smiled as she took it from her mother. "Oh mum, thank you. You didn't have to."

"There's one there for Marcus too." She paused a beat. "So have you decided yet?"

Teresa looked at her mother, confused. "Decided what?" She asked.

"Whether you're going to marry him?"

Teresa fell silent for a moment.

"Oh, I see." Her mother said, observing her daughter's hesitation. "What's wrong Teresa, don't you like him? From the way you spoke about him on the phone he sounded like a really nice guy."

Teresa paused a beat, "he is," she began, "I just don't feel like I'm ready for that yet, you know?"

Mrs Lisbon nodded. "I understand sweetheart, you two haven't really been dating that long. But he must really like you to propose."

"He does, and I like him too but, something doesn't feel right. I don't know, maybe it's just nerves? Fear of commitment?"

Teresa's mother laughed. "Fear of commitment? Jesus Teresa, you sound like a shrink. Listen to me darling, I know you. From the time you could walk you've always known what you wanted. You're such a strong, brave woman and I know that when you decide something is worth doing you will jump in with both feet."

Teresa looked at her, "So, you think I should marry Marcus?"

Her mother put her hand on Teresa's knee and squeezed slightly. "Only you can decide that. You know how you truly feel."

"Maybe I'm just scared?"

"Maybe, if so, you gotta ask yourself, do you love him? Is he the kind of man you can see yourself settling down with? Having kids with?"

Teresa let out a nervous sigh, "I hadn't even thought about having children with him."

"Well it's time you did. If you're going to make this decision that's something you need to consider."

"I don't even know if he wants kids."

"Do you?" She asked.

Teresa smiled wistfully. "I always thought I would have some, one day. I'm not getting any younger, but I have to be sure."

"Off course you do." She paused, "Sounds like you and him need to have a talk."

Teresa nodded. "I'm glad you came mum. I missed you so much!"

Mrs Lisbon leaned over and embraced her daughter, "I missed you too honey."

xxxxxx

A few days later and it was Valentine's day. Marcus had invited Teresa to the charity ball he and Patrick had organised. He had picked her up and the two of them were chauffeur driven to the Citizen Hotel. Marcus had been planning this event for weeks and was so excited that he couldn't stop talking about it all the way there. Teresa's talk with her mother was still running through her mind and she knew she had to talk to Marcus. She had meant to do it the day before but she had been working on a homicide case that had kept her late at the office. They finally caught a break in the early hours of the morning and arrested the perp. Teresa then went home, climbed into bed and had slept through the whole morning and a couple of hours into the afternoon, she was so tired.

She hadn't really wanted to go anywhere that evening but it was Valentine's day after all and she really wanted to spend some time with Marcus. Things, however were not going to plan. Not ten minutes after they arrived, Marcus was ambushed by a couple of his restaurant backers and was off talking shop. She tried to make small talk with a few people she recognised until she eventually lost hope of having any meaningful conversation and began to make her way to the bar when a familiar head of blond curls caught her eye. She smiled and headed for the table at the far end of the room. "Hiding?" She asked as she approached Patrick, who seemed to be lost in thought.

He turned to look at her and shook his head, "people watching."

"People watching?" She asked as she took a seat next to him.

"See that man over there?" He pointed to a man in a white tuxedo talking to an attractive woman.

"Yeah," she replied. "What about him?"

"He's about to ask her to dance, but she's going to turn him down."

Teresa looked at them, "How can you tell?"

"Just watch," he told her quietly, and she did. Sure enough, a few seconds later he was asking the woman to dance with him and she politely shook her head. He tried to convince her but he turned him down and excused herself to the ladies's room.

Teresa laughed and Patrick grinned.

"How did you know?" She asked.

"I'm psychic." He teased and she raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Okay, I'm not psychic, but I can read people. Look at those three over by the bar. The one with the bow tie thinks the guy with the scotch is full of himself. He's thinking about calling him out on it but is too polite to do it here." He paused and the third man is sleeping with Bowtie's wife."

Teresa scrunched up her face at that. "No way. There is now way you can tell all that from just watching them."

He turned to her, amused. "I was right the first time wasn't I?"

"Sure, but that could have just been a lucky guess."

He smiled, "okay, I bet I can read your mind." He challenged.

Teresa smiled and crossed her arms over her chest. "Go ahead." She dared him.

"Hmmm," he began, tapping at his lower lip. "You're from Chicago…"

"Oh great guess, what gave that away I wonder? Could it be my accent?"

He pretended to think harder. "You're an only child, no…only daughter. You have many brothers."

"Still not impressed Patrick - Marcus could've told you that."

He continued, unperturbed. "You don't feel comfortable here. This is not the type of thing you wanted for Valentine's day with Marcus. You wanted to have a romantic rooftop dinner, followed by dancing." He looked at her for a reaction.

"Again, that's not hard to guess."

"You like to dance to eighties rock ballads." He grinned at her reaction then.

"How did you know that?"

"The boy wonder sees all." He said and leaned back in his chair.

She grinned, "okay, I'll give you that one. Very good. My turn now."

He sat up at that. "Your turn?"

"Hmmm," she mimicked his previous pose, tapping her bottom lip. He chuckled. "There's something on your mind. Something that's been bugging you for a while and you can't shake it?"

He looked at her and for a brief moment a flicker of surprise crossed his face before he schooled his features once more. "Well I did tell you about the restaurant Teresa." He said.

He grinned. "Nice try Patrick but that isn't it."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're lying," she told him but was smiling as she said it, "but that's okay. It's a private matter."

"Then why bring it up?"

"Just so you know you're not the only one with people reading skills here. I am a homicide detective, remember."

"Yes, agent Lisbon, I remember." They smiled and held each other's gaze a second longer than was comfortable.

Patrick cleared his throat. "So where is that boyfriend of yours? I would have thought he'd be asking you to dance by now."

Teresa sighed. "He got waylaid but some guys earlier on and I haven't seen him since. I really would have loved to dance with him. I haven't seen him for a few days."

Against his better judgement and before he could stop himself the words just came out of his mouth. "Would you like to dance?"

Teresa looked at him in surprise. "With you?"

He hesitated, "you're right, it would be a little awkward."

"No, it's not that, it's…nevermind. Sure I'd love to dance." She told him.

"Really?"

She nodded and they both stood up and he led her to the dance floor. The song was a slow love song from the nineties, one Teresa hadn't heard in years but it soon brought a flood of memories back from her teen years. Patrick held her lightly in his arms as they danced, mindful not to get too close to her. He could sense that she was starting to relax and he leaned closer and spoke softly in her ear so she could hear him over the music. "You know, for what it's worth, he did try to arrange this event for the fifteenth not the fourteenth. But the hotel was booked up. I think he wanted to spend today alone with you doing something romantic."

He moved his head back to look at her. She smiled back at him, "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He confirmed.

"You know, I really don't feel comfortable here."

"I noticed." He laughed, "but it's more to do with the company than the event." He looked at her then, "Marcus' sisters. They aren't exactly fans of yours."

"I don't know what to do Patrick. I mean, if I'm going to spend the rest of my life with him, how do I get along with them?"

"Are you going to marry him?" He asked.

"I don't know. There's a lot to think about."

"You remind me of Cinderella, and they are the evil sisters." He giggled.

"Yeah, except sometimes I wish that I would turn into a pumpkin at midnight. They seem to get some perverse pleasure at humiliating me."

"You don't seem like the kind of woman who worries about what other people think of her."

"Usually no, but it's different in this case. I mean, I don't want to hurt Marcus. He obviously loves his sisters. It's hard, you know." She looked into his eyes, her own had grown wide and glazed over with unshed tears. The sight went straight to Patrick's heart and he held her gaze while the feeling of sympathy for the woman before him filled his mind. "Ow!" She exclaimed and Patrick blinked and then realised that he had accidentally stepped on her foot. She bent down in an attempt to adjust the shoe that had gone a little crooked on her foot as a result.

"Oh, Teresa, I'm so sorry!" He too bent down to see if she was okay but did so just as she brought her head back up again and it collided with his. The two of them stood upright once more, each holding their heads and laughing at what just happened.

"You little bitch!" Came a shrill voice from behind Teresa. She turned around only to see Peyton marching over to them, wine glass in hand and wearing an angry expression on her face.

"Peyton?" She asked, not knowing what she was angry about.

"Patrick. Is. Mine! You will leave him alone or I swear to God I will make you regret it!"

"You're drunk." Teresa told her.

"Don't you patronise me you little cow, don't you dare patronise me! I saw the two of you dancing, the way you looked at him."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Teresa said.

"Stay away!" With that she threw her wine in Teresa's face, shoved her aside and stormed off, leaving Patrick and Teresa speechless.

A/N: I always wondered what Teresa's mother would be like if she were still alive at the time of the show. Hope you liked my interpretation of her's and Teresa's relationship. More to come soon!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry that this chapter is a bit later than usual, my life has been very busy these past few weeks and I've not had any time to do some writing. Once again I would like to thank everyone who has been following/favouriting/reviewing this story. Your support and kind words mean a lot to me.

I also want to thank Ilovetea for spotting the little error earlier in the story - it was meant to be Teresa's father who died and not her mother (I have now gone back and corrected that). Apologies for that and I assure you it will in no way impact the rest of the story. Now, onto chapter five!

 **Chapter 5: Cooking Up Trouble**

Teresa stood there, utterly embarrassed, wiping the wine off her face with a paper napkin as the people around her gaped at her in shock and mild amusement. She could feel her cheeks begin to heat up and was sure they must resemble the colour of the wine that was just thrown at her. Patrick pulled out a handkerchief from the pocket of his suit jacket and offered it to Teresa. She thanked him and continued in her efforts. Once she could see clearly again she excused herself and went outside to get away from prying eyes and for some fresh air. Patrick gave her a few seconds lead before following her. Once outside, he looked around for her and after a little while saw Teresa sitting on a small bench on the other side of the street. He approached slowly, noticing that she had her head down and he didn't want to startle her. "Teresa?" He asked as he came to within two feet of her, "You okay?"

She didn't answer him immediately, she just stared at his shoes, embarrassment making her not want to look at him at that moment.

"I'm fine." She replied quietly.

At first Patrick thought she might be crying but he noted her body posture; the tightness of her muscles and concluded that she was angry. He sat down beside her, keeping a few inches between them, not sure of what to say. "Some party huh?" he joked, trying to ease the tension.

Teresa tried to laugh but it came out as more of a grunt. "Yeah, some party."

"Do you want to be left alone?" He asked.

She finally looked up at him and sighed. "What I want is to be as far away from here as possible."

"Shall I get Marcus?"

She shook her head, "No. I've called a cab, I don't want Marcus to see me like this right now, I'm embarrassed enough."

Patrick nodded, "I'll wait with you till the cab arrives." He told her. "Or, you know, till you turn into a pumpkin."

Teresa laughed in spite of herself and Patrick smiled. "I can't think of a better time for it can you?" She asked.

"Well, I'd rather you didn't." Her emerald eyes took his breath away for a second and he cleared his throat to cover it. "I mean, pumpkins don't make great conversationalists." Teresa giggled a little and Patrick continued, "I mean they're great in soups and I can make an excellent pumpkin pie, if I do say so myself," He wanted to kick himself for rambling on like such an idiot but his unexpected reaction to her made him want to talk. It was Teresa's laughter that cut him off.

"Are you always like this?" She asked.

Patrick felt his face begin to flush with embarrassment now and he was glad he was outdoors where the cool breeze could take away some of the rising heat he felt creep up his spine. "Do you mean do I always brag about my own culinary skills, or am I always so suave and smooth?"

Teresa found his self-deprecating humour endearing. "I mean," she began. "Are you always such a good friend? Marcus always talks about you, you know. How you helped him out in the early days of his career, how you are such a good friend to him." At that Patrick winced a little but didn't say anything. "Thank you for waiting with me Patrick."

His answering smile was dimmed a little by the guilt he felt, however unjustified. "You're welcome."

They sat in silence for a little while, Teresa looked around and breathed in the fresh evening air, letting the coolness of its touch calm her down a little more. Just then her cell phone rang. She answered it and then hung up. "Cab's here. I better get going."

"Sure," Patrick replied. "You going to be okay?"

She nodded. "Would you mind telling Marcus…"

"I will, don't worry. Have a safe drive home."

"Goodnight Patrick."

He smiled again, "Goodnight Teresa," he said softly and when he looked into her eyes he could have sworn there was a moment's hesitation there, a reluctance to leave for a fraction of a second before she turned her back to him and began to walk towards the cab. He watched as she got into the vehicle and they drove off down the street. Once she was gone he shook his head. "Don't let your imagination get the better of you Boy Wonder."

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Patrick found himself taking a stroll by Peyton's house. He was still worked up over the events of the past evening and had decided to go and speak to her about it once she had sobered up. He walked up to the front door and rang the bell. He waited a few seconds before he heard the door unlock. Hi Peyton." He began but before he could say another word, Peyton grabbed him by his suit collar and pulled him to her lips. Patrick tried to tear her away but she held onto him, trying to deepen the kiss. "Peyto.." He attempted to say and that made her stop and pull back a little, breathless.

"Patrick, I knew you couldn't stay away for long." She pulled him inside by the arm, closed the door and then moved towards him once more. This time Patrick was prepared and quickly side-stepped her and walked into the living room and sat on the couch. She joined him, sitting an inch away and he couldn't help but notice that she had unbuttoned her blouse a little on the walk to the living room.

"Peyton, this isn't what you think.."

"Aww it's okay Patrick. It's just you and me, no one needs to know.."

"No, Peyton, listen to me. I came to talk to you about Teresa and what happened last night."

Peyton felt as if he had thrown ice water over her then and she moved to sit a little further away from him. "Oh," she said, her tone one of distaste. "What about it?"

He shook his head in disbelief. "What about it? You threw a drink in her face, that's what. In front of everyone!"

She smirked, "Would it have been better if we were alone?"

He scowled, "This isn't funny Peyton."

"Look, I've already had Marcus on my case this morning I don't need you going on about it too. I had a bit too much wine, it happens." She shrugged. "Besides, I was doing you a favour. The little slut was all over you."

Patrick could feel his anger rising. "She's your brother's fiancé. How can you talk about her like that. Besides, she's done nothing wrong."

Peyton looked absently at her hand, apparently examining her nails. "My brother is a dear but he can be a little naive sometimes, as can you Patrick. Neither of you can see what kind of woman she really is. Just another cheap whore looking to marry someone rich so she can live comfortably. Really, I'm doing you both a favour. Soon she'll realise that she doesn't belong in our family and she'll move on."

Patrick took a deep breath in an attempt to calm the growing storm inside him. He waited a second before saying, "You can't be serious."

Peyton flashed him a wicked smile and leaned closer to him, "You've seen the way she dresses, right."

Patrick stood up at once, taking Peyton off guard and she almost fell face first into the cushions at the sudden movement. "How can you be so cruel? I mean I always knew you were a snob but this, this is…"

Peyton now stood up and faced him, her hand on her hip. "What did you just call me?"

"Oh come on Peyton, you waltz around with your expensive hand bag and designer heels while you look down on anyone who can't keep up."

"That is a lie!" she countered.

It was Patrick's turn to smile now, "I'll bet that you wouldn't even have looked at me if Marcus hadn't told how much I make."

Peyton could feel her anger gathering in her hand.

"In fact, I'll take a wild guess and say that you're a little jealous of Teresa."

Peyton's face was turning a bright shade of red. "How dare you! How dare you think I would be jealous of that little gold-digging, manipulative slut!"

"Then how come, in all this time you have not even said even _one_ nice thing about her?" Patrick turned to leave but before he walked away he told her, "You know, Teresa is ten times the woman you'll ever be." And then he walked out of the house, got in his car and drove away.

Peyton's anger was so strong that she couldn't even speak. She had contemplated slapping him for his slanderous comments but then another thought occurred to her. _I had it wrong, Teresa isn't interested in Patrick. Patrick is interested in Teresa!_ She smiled in triumph as she began to hatch a perfect plan for revenge.

xxxxx

"I don't understand," began Lillian as she sipped at her ice tea later that morning, "why are we having brunch with her?"

"I just want to get to know her Lilly," Peyton explained, "maybe we've misjudged her."

Lillian raised her eyebrow at that, "Peyton, dear, you said she was flirting with Patrick behind Marcus' back and now you want to make friends with her?"

Peyton looked at her sister and sighed, "Oh all right! That's not why I asked her here."

"Go on," Lillian said, listening intently.

"I did have it wrong, it's not Teresa that we need to worry about, it's Patrick. He came over to my place this morning and tore into me, accused me of…of being a snob of all things! Can you believe that?"

"That's absurd." Lillian said without a trace of sarcasm. "You can be a little critical at times, but you tell it like it is. Nothing wrong with that.'

Peyton nodded, "Thank you." She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "And when I told Patrick that Teresa was just after our brother's money he started getting really defensive and it was clear to see that he has feelings for her."

Lilian's face contorted in shock and surprise, "No!"

"Yes!" Peyton told her, "You should have seen how worked up he was getting. It was as if _he_ was her boyfriend and not Marcus."

Lillian shook her head in disbelief. "But Patrick is not like that. He wouldn't."

"That's what I thought too, but you should have seen him Lilly! I've never seen him like that before. I think he's trying to clear the field so he can have her to himself."

"I don't believe it. If it were _her_ then yes but Patrick would never hurt Marcus like that."

"Ordinarily I would agree with you, but you know that Patrick will stop at nothing to get what he wants. That's what made him so attractive to me, but now…" she made a slightly repulsed face.

"You really think he wants Teresa?"

"I do. And he will stop at nothing to get her, believe me, even if it means hurting Marcus. He will seduce her and she will run to him like the money-grabbing bitch she is."

"And so we're going to have brunch with her because?"

"I have a plan to expose Patrick for the back stabber he really is, but we need inside information about the two of them."

"Ah, so we act as if we like her so she will feel safe to dish the dirt?"

"Exactly!" Peyton drank a bit of her coffee. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

xxxx

That evening, Teresa was having trouble falling asleep. Her mind kept turning over the events of the last day or two. She was very surprised that Peyton and Lillian had invited her for brunch and to make things even more strange, they were actually being civil to her. Peyton had even apologised for the way she acted and had offered to buy her coffee. On the one hand a flicker of hope made her want to believe that things might actually have turned a corner for her in terms of finally being accepted by Marcus' family, but on the other hand, the detective part of her nature couldn't help at being a little suspicious about it all.

She was about to go to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate when her cell phone rang. She turned over to her nightstand to reach for the phone, expecting it to be Marcus calling her, but instead she was surprised to see that it was Patrick.

She sat up and cleared her throat. "Hi Patrick, is everything okay?"

"That's what I was going to ask you." He replied. "Sorry I didn't get a chance to talk after last night, you wouldn't believe the day I've had."

Teresa smiled and he could hear the laughter in her voice. "I'm a big girl Patrick, you don't have to check on me."

"I know, but I also know the affect Peyton can have on most people. She's kind of a force of nature."

"Well I'm not most people, I can handle Peyton."

"Well, I'd better go. I'm glad you're okay. Goodnight Teresa."

"Goodnight Patrick." She said and then he hung up. Teresa started at the phone in her hand for a moment. She had been caught off guard by his call and was touched at his concern. This was then immediately followed by an unfamiliar sensation that gnawed at her insides. She put the phone back on the nightstand and pulled the covers over her body. Her last thoughts before she drifted off were of Patrick Jane.

Peyton had wished she had brought a blanket with her, as the evening air was starting to get to her as she sat inside her car a little way away from Teresa Lisbon's apartment. She had turned the engine off and had been waiting there as she watched Patrick's car pull up outside. She had thought he was going to go inside but he was just parked there for a good ten minutes. Peyton knew that the odds of her catching him here on the first night of her surveillance was going to be slim, so it was a pleasant surprise when she saw the blue Citroen pull up. She got her camera out and began to take some pictures. Then she watched as he got his cell phone out to make a quick call before driving away again.

Peyton smiled to herself smugly — this was going to work out better than she had hoped. She reached around in her handbag and pulled her own phone out and made a call. The person on the other end answered after two rings.

"Peyton?"

"Hello Marcus. I was wondering, can we meeting for coffee tomorrow morning? I have something urgent I need to discuss with you."

"What's this about?" Her brother asked.

Peyton smiled, "It's to do with Patrick Jane, and his future as a partner at the restaurant."

A/N: More soon!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter done – life gets in the way sometimes. Thank you for all the lovely reviews and I really hope you'll like this chapter.

Chapter 6: Stealth Tactics

"So just what is this about?" Marcus asked his sister the following morning as they sat in his restaurant drinking coffee. It was still a good two hours before the restaurant opened and they had the place to themselves. "You call me up in the middle of the night and tell me that you want to talk about the future of the restaurant? What's going on Peyton?"

Peyton took a leisurely sip of her latte. "I don't think that Patrick is the right person to be a partner in this restaurant Marcus," she began to which Marcus raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"This isn't about that what happened at the event now is it? Look Peyton, I know you like him but..."

Peyton tried to fake a laugh but it came out as more of a choking sound. "This," she began to refute his suggestion but then smiled and thought better of it. "This is linked to that. Look, Marcus, you know I love you and only want what's best for you." She paused to watch his face.

"I know Peyton." He replied.

"Well I'm afraid to have to tell you this but I don't think that Patrick can be trusted."

This got his attention. "Why do you say that?" he asked.

"Well," she paused for effect, "I was watching him on the dance floor with Teresa and it looked like he was whispering in her ear and trying to get close to her."

Marcus shook his head dismissively. "There was a lot of noise and the music was loud, maybe he was trying to make himself heard."

"I saw the way he was looking at her Marcus."

Marcus' eyes darkened a little, "What are you saying?"

"I don't like to interfere in your life Marcus, but you're my brother and I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Stop. Stop right now, I want you to think before you say what I think you're going to say. Patrick is my friend Peyton, he's been my friend for a very long time."

Peyton reached her hand out across the table and rested it lightly upon his arm in a placating gesture. "I know Marcus, and you know I would never make any accusations if I didn't have good cause to but I think that Patrick may be interested in Teresa."

Marcus ran his hand through his hair. "I don't believe it. Patrick's a good guy, he would never to anything to jeopardise our friendship." He paused, "Even if he liked her, he would never act on it. Are you sure you're not just jealous because he turned you down?"

Peyton let out a slow breath and clenched her fist under the table. "I have proof Marcus."

"What?"

She let go of her brother's arm and fished around in her purse for the pictures she took the previous night. She had kept them in a blue folder which she took out and placed on the table in front of him.

"What's this?" he asked as a sickening feeling began to take hold in his stomach.

"Proof." She said and waited as he moved his hand to the folder and hesitated as he touched it. "I know this is hard for you but you deserve to know the truth."

He looked at her and then pulled the folder towards him, not knowing what he would find when he opened it. When he took the first photo out he was confused. "A picture of Patrick in his car?" He asked. "What does that prove?"

"Take a look at the building behind it." She pointed to Teresa's apartment building.

"This was taken just after ten last night, right before I called you."

"What the hell were you doing taking pictures of him at that time of night? Were you stalking him?"

"I'm looking after your best interests Marcus. A better question you should be asking is what was he doing at her apartment at that time of night?"

"Did you see him go in or come out of the apartment?" He asked and Peyton shook her head. There was a moment's pause before Marcus shook his head again, "No." he said, "no, I refuse to believe this. This doesn't prove anything!"

Peyton nodded solemnly, "That's true, it doesn't definitely prove what I suspect, but you've got to admit it does leave room for doubt."

"Patrick would never do that and I know that Teresa would never cheat on me."

"I know you love her Marcus but Patrick is quite the charmer. Sooner or later..."

"No!" He hadn't meant to raise his voice but the uncomfortable feeling beginning to rise inside his mind made him forget himself. "No," he said again, more quietly this time. "This is all circumstantial, it proves nothing. I don't believe it."

"Does that mean you want me to stop investigating? Do you really trust him completely? I mean, in spite of my personal feelings about her, Teresa is a very attractive woman."

Marcus' hand still lay on the black and white photo in front of him and he stared at the image a while and then up at Peyton. "No. I don't want you to stop."

Peyton smiled inwardly but outwardly she frowned and nodded her head. "In the mean time, I'd keep an eye on him while he's here. If he can betray you this way, who knows what's he's capable of doing with the restaurant? He's a very ambitious man Marcus, in every field of life." She rose from her seat and lightly touched his shoulder before she left, leaving her brother staring at the photo once more.

"That he is." He muttered quietly to himself, "That he is."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Teresa was at a particularly grisly crime scene when she felt her phone vibrate inside the pocket of her blazer. She reached inside and picked it up, smiling when saw the caller ID. She excused herself from her team who were gathered around the dead body and walked to a quiet spot to take the call. "Hi Marcus," she greeted, "what's up?"

"Hey Teresa, just wanted to say hi."

Teresa arched a brow in confusion at that. "Really?"

"What, I can't call my beautiful fiancée just to hear her voice? I miss you."

Her smile widened. "I miss you too. But Marcus I'm not your fiancée."

"I know, I'm just teasing." She could hear the smile in his voice but still couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. "Look, Marcus, we need to talk about...a lot of things."

"I know, how about we meet for dinner this evening, my place. I'll cook us something nice." He suggested, his voice soft.

Teresa sighed, "That sounds lovely but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it tonight, this case we've caught, it's a big one. I've got Cho questioning a promising lead right now but this killer is elusive, he just keeps on killing and we just can't seem to catch him."

Marcus detected the faint note of irritation in her voice. "I understand, well maybe tomorrow night then."

"Maybe. We really do need to talk Marcus." Teresa heard the creak of a door opening on the other end of the line.

"Look sweetheart, I've got to go, I'll call you tonight okay?"

"Okay," Teresa replied despondently. She loved her work but hated the fact that it meant spending so much time away from him. "Take care."

"Bye." He said and then hung up and put his cell phone on his desk.

"Morning Marcus," Patrick greeted as he entered their shared office at the back of the restaurant.

"Patrick," Marcus replied and Patrick immediately picked up on the frostier tone.

"Everything okay?" He asked as he walked up to the small kitchen area and began to make himself a cup of tea.

Marcus eyed him warily for a few seconds and then got up and walked over to him. "Everything's fine. I wanted to thank you for looking after Teresa the other night."

Patrick smiled, but was curious at the tone his friend was using, "No problem." He said as he dunked his teabag in his cup.

"It was nice of you to look out for her like that." He pressed on. "I mean you don't even know her that well."

Patrick turned to face him, cup in hand, "She's your girlfriend, and you're my friend."

"Any friend of mine is a friend of yours huh?"

Patrick took a sip of his tea, 'Something like that. Look, Teresa didn't deserve to be treated like that. You know I've got nothing against Peyton in general, but the way she treats Teresa…"

"Yeah, she told me you went and had a little chat with her about that," Marcus crossed his arms, a gesture that did not go unnoticed to Patrick. His friend was getting a little defensive but he was not sure why.

"Look Marcus, I'm sorry if I overstepped my bounds, but she needed to be told that that kind of behaviour is not acceptable."

"She's not a child Patrick," Marcus countered, the tension in his voice beginning to grow.

"I know but sometimes she acts like one. Come on, Marcus, you can't keep making excuses for her, this isn't a one-off thing. She hasn't liked Teresa from the start."

"She's my sister Patrick…"

"I know that…"

"And quite frankly, this is none of your business. I'm grateful that you took care of Teresa that night but in future I would appreciate if you let me handle family matters."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying butt out of this Patrick. Leave this alone, this doesn't concern you."

Patrick could feel his anger growing and he tried to remain calm. "Teresa is my friend too Marcus…"

"And she's my girlfriend!" He paused, "Sometimes I think you forget that."

Patrick looked him in the eye, "What's that supposed to mean?" He breathed.

Marcus stepped a little closer to him and kept his voice as level as he could manage, "I think you know exactly what I mean." He held the other man's gaze for a moment and then turned and left the office before Patrick had a chance to reply. Patrick was left standing there trying to process what had just transpired between them.

xxxxxx

Teresa and her team had spent the better part of the afternoon following a lead. They had managed to track their suspect down to an abandoned warehouse towards the south side of town. By the time they had arrived there, darkness had begun to descend. Teresa pulled up in the company SUV and both her and Cho got out of the vehicle and quietly rendezvoused with the other officers who were already on the scene. They had come in quietly, no sirens so as not to alert the suspect to their presence. However, despite the precautions, something nagged at the back of Teresa's mind, something that told her they were being watched. She fought a chill that threatened to run up her spine and began to give orders. "Okay Tompkins, Suarez, you take the west corner, Dean, Smith cover the back. Cho and I will move in from the front. Whatever you do, maintain radio silence unless it's an emergency. We don't want to let them know we're here."

There were nods from everyone.

"He has evaded us for too long, time to get the bastard!"

And with that they all took position.

As planned, Teresa and Cho went in cautiously through the main entrance at the front. The warehouse was silent and all the windows had been boarded up. The place was covered in dust and the only light was that of the torches they carried. Teresa singled for Cho to cover the east side while she walked over to the west, careful not to make any noise or bump into anything. Her feet made a soft thudding sound on the hard metal floor and she was thankful she chose to wear the softer soled boots this morning. She turned her head to the right to see Cho moving ahead slowly, he stopped and turned to her and signalled that it was clear so far. Not thirty-seconds after that they heard a faint noise coming from the back of the warehouse. Teresa stopped for a second and listened again. For a second or two all was quiet but then she heard another noise. It sounded like a struggle and a few seconds later there was a cry of anguish. Teresa looked at Cho who seemed to know what she was thinking and the two of them swiftly made their way towards the back of the building. When they got there, they found the two officers lying on the floor in pools of their own blood. A few seconds after that, Tompkins and Suarez rushed in to meet them. "What happened?" Teresa demanded.

"We heard a struggle then Dean shouting for help. We were on our way here when we spotted someone fleeing the scene." Tompkins informed her. "Suarez gave chase but he jumped the fence and he couldn't catch him. I heard struggling sounds here so we ran back here as fast as we could but by then it was too late." He gestured to the two dead officers on the floor before them.

"That means the other guy is still here." Cho said.

Teresa looked at her second in command, "Does this seem like a set up to you?" Teresa asked him and Cho nodded.

"Trap."

Just then a gunshot rang out across the warehouse and Teresa and the team instinctively ducked and looked for cover. Another shot was fired and Teresa looked around to try and pinpoint the location of the shooter. Just as she tried to move from behind a pile of empty canisters, the unsub fired again. Cho managed to get a bead on him and moved stealthily to his location. The unsub saw him coming and tried to take off towards the front of the warehouse but Cho was too good a marksman for him. He took aim and fired and a second later the unsub fell face first to the floor.

Cho walked over to him and checked his pulse - the guy was still alive. He called for an ambulance and then went back to Teresa and the team but panic filled his mind at the sight of his boss on the floor, out cold and blood seeping through her jeans from the bullet wound in her leg.


End file.
